The second part of the sales season at Il Ponte Casa d'Aste opens with the Books and Manuscripts auction on 21 September 2021
The spotlight will be on Salvador Dalì’s Bible three versions, the centrepiece of the artists’ books section, which will include other authoritative names such as Pablo Picasso and Joan Mirò. The Bible by the surrealist master, the most complete and authentic copy ever appeared on the market, stands out as one of the 99 ad personam copies enriched by an original gouache and composed of 5 in folio volumes illustrated by 105 lithographs and by the gold cast of the artist's hand, all contained within the original bookcase cabinet (lot 293 / estimate € 40.000 - 60.000). An iconic work that introduces to a collection of refined editions such as one of the 50 copies with original etching signed and numbered by Picasso of his first monograph published in 1926 (lot 301 / estimate € 4.000 - 6.000) and an edition by Mirò, "Adonides", printed in 200 copies and signed by the artist (lot 299 / estimate € 5.000 - 8.000), whose department is constantly growing thanks to its ability to offer rare works sought after by collectors worldwide.
Lot 301_Pablo Picasso (1881-1973); Christian Zervos (1889-1970),
"Picasso Oeuvres 1920-1926"
Paris: Edition "Cahiers d' Art", 1926.
Estimate € 4.000 - 6.000
Among the antique books in the catalogue, the first edition of the "Imitatio Christi'' attributed to Thomas a Kempis and published in 1472 by the first typographer of Augsburg: Günther Zainer (lot 100 / estimate € 40.000 - 60.000). A cult object for the sector, and a true publishing case, the work is the most widely distributed religious text in all of Western Christian literature after the Bible. The auction copy is distinguished by a contemporary Germanic sow's leather binding with embossed decoration, attributable to the workshop of Fuchsvolgen Meister I of Augsburg.
Lot 100_Thomas A Kempis (c. 1380-1471),
"Imitatio Christi"
Printed in Augusta by Günther Zainer [before June 5, 1473, but from recent studies not after 1472].
Estimate € 40.000 - 60.000
In addition to these precious volumes, there are two fundamental works of modern archaeology, a first edition of the "Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities" by Sir William Douglas Hamilton and Pierre-Francois Hugues d'Hancarville (lot 239 / estimated value € 38.000 - 48.000) and the "Antichità d'Albano e di Castel Gandolfo" by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (lot 250 / estimated value € 6.000 - 9.000). A significant temporal leap leads to one of the most splendid products of the Enlightenment, a great landmark in the intellectual history of the West: the renowned "Encyclopédie" by Diderot and d'Alembert (lot 130 / estimate € 20.000 - 30.000). The work is composed of 33 volumes published between 1751 and 1777, illustrated with 2859 copper engraved plates and fine bindings with gold decorated backs. This is followed by the most famous illustrated edition of Cervantes' "Don Quijote de la Mancha", a Spanish literary masterpiece printed by Joaquín Ibarra (lot 232 / € 10.000 - 15.000).
Lot 239_Sir William Douglas Hamilton (1730-1803) - Pierre-Francois Hugues d'Hancarville (1719-1805) (1719-1805),
"Collection of Etruscan, Greek and Roman Antiquities from the Cabinet of the Hon. William Hamilton"
Naples: Francois Morelli, 1766-67.
Estimate € 38.000 - 48.000
Lot 130_Diderot Denis (1713-1784) and Jean D'Alambert (1717-1783),
"Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers"
Paris: 1754-1777
Estimate € 20.000 - 30.000
For lovers of atlases and cartography, a series of captivating large wall maps are on offer, including Giambattista Nolli's masterpiece "La nuova topografia di Roma" engraved in 1748, whose precision and graphic clarity make it a model for all the maps that followed until the 20th century (lot 210 / estimated value €5.000 - 8.000). The Dutch cartographers Willem and Joan Blaeu (respectively father and son), through a couple of maps full of illustrations (lot 186 / estimated value € 4.000 - 6.000), introduce the exploration of the world and its infinite customs.
Milan and its history are honoured by an exceptional selection of works, among which a monumental copy of the "Mappa degli Astronomi di Brera" (lot 209 / estimated value € 5.000 - 8.000), realized in 1810 by Gaetano De Antoni in a four times larger scale and characterized by several topographic sections accompanied by an allegorical title in which Fame and Time crown the city. There is also an important manuscript parchment made between 1470-1483 depicting the family tree of the Sforza Dukes of Milan (lot 20 / estimated value €5.000 - 8.000), probably used by Ludovico il Moro as a political instrument to legitimize his power both internally and externally. In the section dedicated to gastronomy as protagonist, a first edition of the famous French treatise by Le Sieur Robert "L'Art de bien traiter" (lot 144 / estimate € 5.000 - 8.000) stands out.
Lot 186_Willem Blaeu (1571-1638) e Joan Blaeu (1596-1673),
"Two geographical maps Nova et Exacta Asiae Geographica Descriptio; Nova Acvrata Totivs Evropae Tabvla"
Amsterdam: Blaeu, 1608-1624?.
Estimate € 4.000 - 6.000
COVER IMAGE: Lot 291_Salvador Dalì (1904-1989)
Biblia Sacra vulgatae editionis.
Edizione “Ad Personam”
Milan: Rizzoli, 1967.
Estimate € 40.000 - 60.000